Pte Horace Weedon, 14903, No. 1 Company of the 2nd Grenadier Guards, was killed in action in France on September 14th, 1914.

Pte Weedon, whose parents John and Sarah Ann lived at 53 Wimbourne Road, Luton, was a native of the town and lived here the major portion of his short life. He was only 22 years old. As a schoolboy he went to Chapel Street School until he was about 12 and then to Waller Street. For a time he was employed by Mr Treasure, of the furniture stores in Cheapside, and then went to the Diamond Foundry He left there and joined the Army for three years.

Pte Stanley George Crawley, died in a hospital near Shrewsbury on September 19th, 1918, seven months after contracting a complicated illness while serving on the Eastern Front and being sent home.

When war broke out Stanley joined the 1st/5th Bedfordshire Regiment. On mobilisation he was found to be a home service man, and was not with the battalion at Gallipoli. He eventually joined them in 1916 and saw active service. The climate in the East brought on his illness early in 1918and two weeks before his death he arrived at the hospital near Shrewsbury.

Private Henry George Smith, was the son of Sidney and Susan Smith of Bedfordshire. Sidney was General foreman to Luton Borough Council, and Henry was a bricklayer.

Thomas Collier was born in Houghton Regis in 1890 and was one of eight children born to Edwin and Elizabeth Collier.  In 1914 he married Margaret Annie Reed in Luton and they had one son, Ralph.

He joined the army in December 1916 as a private in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps and, after training, was drafted to Salonika, serving at both Vardar and Monastir principally attending wounded and sick horses.

John Raysons Davis was born in Luton in 1897 to Thomas John & Amma Louise.

In 1911 he is living at 3 Liverpool Road, Luton. His father is a straw & felt hat maker, his mother is a straw hat machinist working at home whilst looking after 3 year old Cyril & 7 month old Reginald James. John is 14 years old & working as an errand boy, whilst sisters Beatrice Louise, 12 & Constance Ruth, 7 are at school. They have 2 boarders also living with them, 78 year old Mary Ann Pestell & hat maker John Clarke, 47.

James Edward Genn was born in Boughton, Nonchelsea in Kent in 1881 to James Billet Genn & Eliza, nee Potter.

In 1901 he 20 years old & is living in Kent with his mother, father, 5 brothers & 1 sister. His widowed grandmother, Lucy Potter, is also living with them. He is working as a bricklayer's labourer, the same occupation as his father. His 16 year old brother Frederick is a farm labourer.

George Stokes, was one of the first Luton-born casualties of the war to be reported missing in the pages of the Luton News. He was serving on HMS Amphion, the first Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the conflict. Launched in December 1911, the cruiser hit a mine on August 6th while defending the eastern approaches of the English Channel.

Ronald Rootham, son of William and Anna Rootham of Harold Bedfordshire, served in India and the middle-east, and survived the war.

He is indicated by a dot on the group photograph uploaded below.

He married Dorothy Ward in 1923, and tragically died in 1934 aged only 35.

Charles Taylor served in the Royal Garrison Artillery in Salonika.  He was born in Luton 19880.  He and his wife Alice ran the Gardeners Call Public House in Luton for 50 years.

Private Hudson served with the 5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment in Gallipoli in August 1915. His family donated his pocket diary to the Wardown Museum and it will be on display at the WW1 exhibition from 5th August 2014.

Private Turner served with the 5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment in Gallipoli and was wounded in August 1915. His family donated photographs and papers to Wardown Museum and these will be on display in the WW1 exhibition from 5th August 2014.

Private Betts of Ashton Road Luton served with the  Mounted Field Ambulance Division of the Royal Army Medical Corps. He arrived at  Gallipoli on 7th October 1915 and died of wounds on 10th October 1915.

Letters from his commanding officer and fellow servicemen and his Memorial Plaque were donated to Wardown Park Museum by his great neice and will be on display at the WW1 Exhibition from 5th August 2014.

Herbert John Odell (a nephew of my great-grandfather, and my first cousin twice removed!) was born in 1892, and like his father John (with whom he lived at 25 North Street, Luton) was a plasterer by trade. He was called up for service on 23 March 1916, and was first enrolled in 6th Royal Fusiliers (Army No. 6700), later transferring to 1/7th Middlesex Regt. (Army No. 203962). He was posted to France on 9 June 1916, but on 16 August 1916, while he was cleaning his rifle, the weapon went off, wounding his left arm, resulting in the amputation of the arm below the elbow.

Archibald (Archie) Odell was an older brother of my paternal grandmother (he was my great-uncle). He was enlisted at St Albans into the 24th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regt. (The Queen's) on 4 September 1914, aged 29. He was posted as a Private (Army No. 2531) with the Expeditionary Force to France on 15 March 1915, but was wounded by a gunshot wound to the throat on 25 May 1915, and sent back to UK on 5 June 1915. He was discharged from the Army on 11 February 1916.

Charles Smith Neale, a hat packer by trade before the War, enlisted into the Army in December 1915, and was posted into the Army Veterinary Corps (Army No. 16205). He was later posted to the RFA (Army No. 155728). He was discharged in May 1918 as "no longer physically fit for war service".